Government & Politics Latvian Political System | Latvian Political System |  |  |
According to the Constitution (Satversme), Latvia is a parliamentary republic in which the sovereign power belongs to the people, who are represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima), with 100 members elected in general, equal, direct, secret and proportional elections for a four-year period.The Saeima, and also the people, have the right to legislate, in accordance with the procedures, and to the extent, provided for by the Constitution.
Draft laws may be submitted to the Saeima by the President, the Cabinet or committees of the Saeima, by not less than five members of the Saeima, or, in accordance with the procedures and in the cases provided for in the Constitution, by one-tenth of the electorate.
The Saeima elects President for a term of four years. The same person must not hold office as President for more than eight consecutive years.
The President represents the State in international relations, appoints the diplomatic representatives of Latvia, and also receives diplomatic representatives of other states. The President implements the decisions of the Saeima concerning the ratification of international agreements (Art.41 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia).
The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Latvia. During wartime, the President appoints a Supreme Commander.
The President has the right to initiate legislation.
The President proclaims laws passed by the Saeima not earlier than the seventh day and not later than the twenty-first day after the law has been adopted. A law comes into force fourteen days after its proclamation unless a different term has been specified in the law.
The candidate for the post of the Prime Minister who is invited by the President invites ministers to form the Government. When the candidate for the post of the Prime Minister submits to the Saeima the list of government ministers and the proposed government activity plan and receives confidence vote by the Saeima, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers start to fulfil their functions and exercise authority.
The Prime Minister determines the general direction of Government’s activities and ensures coordinated and purposeful work of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister leads the work of the Cabinet of Ministers and is responsible before the Saeima. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet sittings and meetings of the Committee of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The Prime Minister appoints:
- state ministers (after confidence vote by the Saeima);
- Parliamentary Secretaries of the ministries (according to recommendation by the respective minister);
- ministers (after confidence vote by the Saeima);
- Deputy Prime Minister;
- Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister's Office and advisers to the Prime Minister.
Cabinet of Ministers is a collegial institution, which adopts its decisions at the sittings of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Cabinet of Ministers, within the scope of its competence, considers policy planning documents, external and internal legal acts, orders of the Cabinet of Ministers, informative statements, national positions and official opinions of the State. Upon approval by the Cabinet of Ministers, all legal acts are published in the official newspaper “Latvijas Vēstnesis”.
Ministries are top-level direct administration institutions that develop state policies and that are directly subordinated to a respective Member of the Cabinet of Ministers. There are the State Chancellery, 16 ministries, 2 secretariats of ministers for special assignments (in total, 19 top-level public administration institutions) in Latvia. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau also has the status of a top-level institution; it is supervised by the Prime Minister and in charge of development and implementation of state policies for prevention and combating of corruption. 98 institutions are subordinated and 84 institutions – supervised by members of the Government, incl. 30 state agencies. Information about direct administration institutions is publicly available. Database of direct administration institutions is available in the Internet homepage of the Cabinet of Ministers.
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Further information
Latvian Saeima - saeima.lv
http:/www.saeima.lv
President of Latvia - president.lv
http://www.president.lv
Prime Minister - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Latvia
Cabinet of Ministers - www.mk.gov.lv
http://www.mk.gov.lv
Ministry List and Links - www.mk.gov.lv
http://www.mk.gov.lv/en/mk/sastavs/
PRIL 25, 2009 9:51AM
A NEW DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL SYSTEM
A NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM IN SATIRE
THIS ARTICLE is for those whose attention span is longer than the time it takes to read a pop-up ad, or watch a commercial on TV. It is not for those who watch sit-coms and reality shows, or whose reading is limited to comic books and greeting cards, or those whose idea of a productive day is at the mall buying Ring-tones and collagen. in short the content is a few pages longer than the standard fare. PLEASE READ THE TAGS!
ADDED AUTHOR COMMENTS:
If you recall, I wrote that at it's recent low GM stock was selling for $1.27 per share. At that time and still, there were/are 611 million shares outstanding, put stock value at about $1.568 Billions.
GM was asking for a $34.4 Billion loan, or 20 times, it’s stock value.
I suggested to both of Senator Durbin’s and Obama’s deaf ears, that they buy all the 611 million shares at the then going price of $1.27 per share or about $1.568 Billions, rehab the company, and then sell it at a profit to the Treasury which is sadly in need of replenishing. I further said that the loan if they gave it to GM would scarcely last 6 months.
Instead, they loaned GM $15.4 billion, then another $2.3 billion, which lasted about 3.5 months (pretty much right on my projection) and are now considering lending them another $15.6 Billion, or a bit more than 20 times, what they could have virtually owned the company for. Even if it worked it cost them 20 times more in loans, minus the profits from replenishing and selling, 40 times more than it should have, which is worse than what the now Bankrupt American home buyers did which helped bring on this mess. The homebuyers were buying homes which at cost were worth about $100,000-$125,000 and paying between $500,000-$600,000.
In contrast the Obama geniuses which apparently studied at the GW Bush school of economics, would have paid for that $100,000-$125,000, between $2,000,000-$5000,000. Whatta deal!
I have an idea for a new political system, which needs neither a two Party system nor a three party system. Let me know if you like it. I call it the Zero, One, Two, Three Party System.
Here is how it works and later you can even vote on it, if you like. Of course, I may try to Rig the votes, but hey, that’s life in America these days.
Both parties have a primary. Both Parties pick the Presidential and Vice Presidential people and congress, both houses, 100 Senators and the 435 House of Representatives they would most like to see running things in America.
Then here are these 200 senatorial candidates and these 870 House candidates, just sitting or lying around, waiting for something to do-Oh, we’ll give them something to do all right and here is what it is: Not much of anything, because there is then going to be no more Republican, Neo-con, or Democratic Liberal/Progressive advantage. All 1074 people go to Washington DC. A Democratic President and Vice President and a Republican President and Vice President and 100 Republican and 100 Democratic Senators, 435 Democratic House members and 435 Republican House members.
Isn’t that great! For the first time in history, everyone gets exactly what they want and no one party has a voting advantage. Now NOTHING will pass! Which is great for all of us? They will be deadlocked over everything. Just think no wars, no depressions, no inflation, and no no-bid contractors
Nothing will pass, that is without compromise. If each side hold to principles instead of having injustice we’ll have NOTHING-and nothing from politicians is GOOD!
Now they can only compromise on things, which are good for all and no private deal making. Oh, I suppose that the Forefathers thought the same thing when they created the two party systems, but their math was off, sliding these last two-hundred-thirty-two years.
Therefore when they work and we will saddle them with no good tools to do that, they will have to, be forced to do what is right because power over all of them is the LAW, backed up by men/women in uniform. The Civil Military would have no power over civilians, only over politicians.
They will be stripped of all technology to spy on us, the loyal citizens of the USA. That technology will be in the hands of the major universities, colleges, and the voters only.
No president will ever again have control of The War Powers Act, or the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The war powers act can only be put into action in three immediate elections. One from both Houses and both sets of Presidents and are purely advisory. The last from every person in the USA and there are no means other than a Social Security Card or Driver’s License which is needed to vote; no record of voting or registration. You just vote. As far as the spying goes, Mukasey, who I must remind myself was approved by the Democrats, now wants to send FBI agents into neighborhoods posing as whatever, questioning neighbors about you. Giving any rat-bastard, Nazi neighbors who hate your guts the chance to spy on you and report you for things you never even heard of. I say it is time for all Americans to begin having public sex so the neighboring spy system will have at least juicy, but truthful things to say about you.
The voting by the Houses can be used by the Referenda and only the people may veto anything. The two presidents can advise however, if they agree, a veto, but the final power is with the people.
The Supreme Court.
Both parties appoint their choices; both sets of justices become members under a tenure policy. They serve for three years, can be renewed for 3 more, and then three more and then they are out and new justices are offered.
Lobbying would become one of only a handful of National Capital crimes. Anyone trying to influence anyone in government other than as salespeople presenting their products or services, or anyone attempting to gain favors from such sale people, is subject to immediate arrest and speedy trials before either being released or being exiled forever. Capital crimes do not end in death. Death remains in the hands of the Great Spirit, not in the hands of men. Prisons are not privatized or publically traded commodities. Universities will run them under the watchful eye of the people and the courts.
There will be no Organized Religions-plural, there will be only one, a group which are caretakers for large chapels open to the public at all hours with God’s and Goddesses, saints and what have you for whomever wishes a statue or painting or stained glass window dedicated and can raise the cash to do so. These can be erected in private homes or if there is room in the many chapels in every town. There are no preachers and no hierarchies, just buildings and God. There will also be one Temple to Beelzebub and statues there will be erected to Cheney, Bush, and the oil companies, Hitler and assorted other Demoniacs. Those who go there to worship will be drowned in oil in the shrine’s basement or sentenced to eat commercial food-fast-food with MSG, Modified Starches, Autolyzed Yeast, petro-distillate chemicals, transfats and be sprayed regularly with pesticides. Herbicides and solvents, and breath the toxic fumes of Scented candle and Plug-in Fragrances and listen to for the rest of there lives.
The military are everyone. There is a draft and everyone regardless of ability or disability serves in some capacity if they are able to work at all, for two years, between high school and college. Moreover, they must stay in shape for their lifetimes; just on, the slim chance there would ever again be war, God Forbid.
Marriage?
There will be none. By turning water into wine, Jesus did not make marriage a sacrament, for several reasons: He did, so, if you recall, reluctantly. Jesus was extremely out spoken, a Liberal/Progressive in opposition to the rule of the ultraconservative Herodian Kings and Chief Priests, as we know. He also saw my ancestors the Romans as extremely conservative as well. Their war mongering and violence places them squarely in opposition to Jesus and his peace movement. Being outspoken enough to get himself hung on a cross for his words, if he wanted marriage to be listed as a sacrament he would have said so straight-out, as he said everyone should communicate in straight terms, simply and honestly. People were still practicing polygamy in Israel at that time and marriage was a simple informal matter.
People, meet, mate, and live together if they wish or apart if they wish. If they wish some sort of ceremony, they can do it themselves at one of the chapels or at home or at a hotel, or in their gardens, parks, or baseball games, or on some street corner or at the bakery, or in the bathroom of their next airliner trip, or on their motorcycles for all we care. There is no discrimination in this process. People can have as many or as few or no partners that is up to the discretion of consenting adults. No one, no parent or guardian may force a child to become a partner until they have reached the age of Freedom and are thus are able to make that decision on their own and can support a partner.
Capital Punishment/Preemptive War
Only GOD expresses the Will of God. If he wants people to die for what they have done, He and He alone will do that, never males or females, never humans or animals which human’s control.
Health Care/Housing/Jobs
There will be “cradle to grave healthcare” for every single living being in America and nothing will be outsourced. All homes whether apartments or houses will have R-30 in the walls and R-50 in the ceilings and choices are Hydrogen, hot-water radiator, Geothermal, solar, or combo, or windmill and combo, and whatever new technology warrants. There will be no system, which uses Oil or gas. Those ancient things will be left to others over which to fight. Those who favor the will be exiled to nations, if any, which still use them. Anyone attempting to corner any markets will be shot on sight.
Healthcare, water, Fuel, and other necessities will be FREE for everyone. No one shall profit upon the misfortunes of others. We will concentrate on as much of heaven on earth as is possible. There will be a cap on annual income at $2.5 million per person, and a minimum wage sufficient to raise a family. All necessities will be nationalized, because Free Enterprise is a myth at all but the lowest levels. At the national level No-Bid contracts, favoritism and political pull make small businesses into Big Business; the rest is a joke for the feeble-minded and the brain addled.
We have no need for the ancient wet-dream of free enterprise for the necessities of life, for that purpose, all necessities should be Nationalized and as Bill Gates, his dad and others have said, the rich should be barred from leaving any more than $5 million to their children. I go a step farther in that I believe no one should be enabled to keep more than $10 million in savings. Every penny I may have above that, mark goes to charity.
The True Reason For the Hasty Framing and Lynching of Jesus
I could go on and cove more, but one thing is quite certain, Jesus, the arch Liberal was hung on the cross not for his religious beliefs, but for his economic beliefs. Forever among the Jews, all sorts of beliefs were present in each wayside temple/chapel. Especially Rabbi Hillel said much of what he said by the Prophets and before Jesus was born. The reality is that Jesus’ speech in Jerusalem concerning “The Day Of The Lord” was a reference to the “Jubilee Year” of the Lord in which the practice of bankruptcy in which after seven years all debt was forgiven and in the 7th times 7th years plus one the Jubilee Year of the Lord all confiscated or sold for taxes lands were to be returned to the family of the original owners.
At his time the Chief Herodian Priests, against Moses prohibition to do so, owned land and either had outsourced the work thereof to scab sub-contractors, at below subsistence levels of the Jewish workers, or sold the land at prices the Jews Could not afford, to wealthy Gentiles. Sound familiar? If Rome or the Zealots had found out about this both the Chief Herodian Priests and their lower level Roman conspiratorial bureaucrats would have been toast. THAT, is why there was such an unprecedented rush-to-judgment the very night he spoke to a cheering throng. Had he followed that up the new Roman Governor, Pilate would have taken notice. He was a leader of such mean-spiritedness, that a few years later he was recalled by Rome for his brutality.
Jesus was lynched by what passed as Republicanism in his era. He was the inspiration for The New Deal of FDR, which came closer than any governmental body in history for enacting the Sermon on The Mount and Matthew 25:31-46, as well as most of the articles of life Jesus inspired for peace, love and charity. Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE in the eyes of God for a person who is an avowed Conservative to also be accepted by God as a Christian. Merely saying that is not true is an act of blasphemy and a fast track ticket to be Hellbound.
THE ARTICLE ABOVE IS A REPRINT OF AN ARTICLE I WROTE IN AUGUST OF 2008 HERE ON OS, YOU COULD FIND IT EASILY Here.
I share your frustration...your indignation and unhappiness with where we are...and where we seem destined to go.
Many of your ideas might work...certainly many of your observations are right on the mark. Iconoclastic restructuring seem to me to have a hell of a lot more potential for making things better than trying to tweak this dysfunctional system. (I once proposed that the constitution be amended to require each state to have one male and one female senator—to get a bit of the testosterone out of the mix!)
I especially appreciate your comments about Jesus...and his teachings...which even I, a very militant agnostic...see as the basis for anyone's moral core. Hearing it come from a "believer" rather than from one of us non-believers, though, has a much more forceful impact.
Keep that stuff up! For the right to invoke Jesus as much as they do ranks up there with the most bizarre of human conduct—rank hypocrisy on a cosmic level.
Rated
Satire or not, your message resonates... if only those who insist on being deaf would hear it. I learn more from reading your posts than I do any poli-sci class I took in college. Well done... keep doing.
--rated--
Boanerges1
"Jonathan Swift meets St. Augustine." I love that. My Catholic Prep-school "Profs" Dominicans and Jesuit Priests all, would love it as well.
Mr. Mustard:
I guess once a Prof, always a Prof.
Good post. Although looking at your profile I would suggest an approach a little closer to the one I take which is "I can take my MA in Political Philosphy and Constitutional Law and $2 and get a cup of coffee at any Denny's".
Rated
And what would stop them from 'compromising on things' which are NOT good for anyone except politicians? And who would judge which is which?
Some excellent points though.
Rated ( for thought)
God, I hate Machiavelli! (Have I become what I hate?) No, I am a benign lover of politics and this was, according to my tags, somewhat of a Satire
Larry Lawson:
Good questions and we both know there is no perfect solution that is why one of my tags was Satire.
BuffyW
Thanks for dropping by:
The always beautiful and talented, antique dealer, I just left your Golden Spike article. I love old six-guns and rifles from the 19th century. My Mom's lake home was an antique and old westerners paradise. My Cousin-in-law was a descendant of Wyatt Earp and still owned his last home in Tombstone.
Rated and I wish I could rate some more.
Although, I must say - there are some pretty fantastic sit coms out there. I mean, can you imagine if Arrested Development didn't get canceled after a meager three years? I think the television viewing public would've been much smarter.
Well done!
Well, ratings are nice, but readers like you are better.
aaroncynic
I miss Two and a Half Men and BOSTON LEGAL
Vonnia
I spend a lot of time there as well.
Wu: China can not copy western political system
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-03-09 10:56 |
| China's political reform is the further improvement of its own socialist political system and the country can not mechanically copy the western political system, said top legislator Wu Bangguo Monday. China will actively draw on the fruits of the whole human civilization, including the beneficial achievements made in the political aspect, but "can by no means indiscriminately copy the western system", said Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC). "(We) will never exercise multi-party ruling in turn, the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers or the bicameral system," Wu said when delivering a work report of the NPC Standing Committee. China's political reform is the self improvement and development of the socialist political system including the NPC system, he said. |
| Source:Xinhuanet |
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